National Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP)

The National Changing Diabetes® Program (NCDP) is a program of Novo Nordisk, a health care company with an 80 year history of innovation and achievement in diabetes care. NCDP was launched in November 2005 in partnership with leaders in the diabetes community, including the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians. NCDP is a multi-faceted initiative that brings together innovators in diabetes education, treatment and policy to improve the lives of people with diabetes. NCDP strives to create change in the U.S. health care system to provide dramatic improvement in the prevention and care of diabetes.

As a part of its National Diabetes Economic Barometer, NCDP commissioned the Lewin Group to estimate the national medical costs associated with gestational diabetes. The research, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Population Health Management, found that $623 million was spent in medical costs on the 180,000 estimated pregnancies where gestational diabetes was diagnosed.

As a part of its National Diabetes Economic Barometer, NCDP commissioned the Lewin Group to estimate the national economic costs associated with undiagnosed diabetes in 2007. The research, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Population Health Management, found that $18 billion was spent on the approximately 6.3 million adults with undiagnosed diabetes in the form of medical and indirect costs.

Over the past several decades, federal policymakers have established a number of health- and disease-focused organizations and initiatives to coordinate and leverage federal activities and programs. These entities—coordinator offices, commissions, panels, and conferences—were advanced by various stakeholders seeking a variety of policy goals.

Avalere Health, through an unrestricted grant provided by Novo Nordisk, examined and profiled nine examples throughout the federal government. The white paper sought to identify the factors that contributed to their creation and evaluated the success factors of some of the more influential entities. The research found that no single approach is universally preferable to others. The success of these varied approaches appears to be driven by effective leadership and a coherent, sustainable outreach strategy that engages diverse stakeholders.

As a part of its National Diabetes Economic Barometer, NCDP commissioned the Lewin Group to explore the economic costs of diagnosed type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the United States in 2007. The research, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Population Health Management, found that $14.9 billion was spent on type 1 diabetes and $159.5 billion was spent on type 2 diabetes in the form of medical and indirect costs.

As a part of its National Diabetes Economic Barometer, NCDP commissioned the Lewin Group to estimate the national health care resource and medical costs associated with prediabetes in 2007. The research, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Population Health Management, found that $25 billion was spent on the estimated 57 million adults with prediabetes in the form of medical costs.

In 2007, NCDP commissioned Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. to identify the range and kinds of federal programs, authority and funding that may influence the incidence, prevalence, treatment and progression of diabetes. The results of the report showed that there is a lack of effective, coordinated federal leadership and spending in diabetes prevention, treatment and care. In response to the research, NCDP and its membership association partners issued a variety of recommendations to Congress to improve federal leadership and alignment of diabetes resources.